Cloth folding machine



R. G. CROWE CLOTH FOLDING MACHINE Jan. 16, 1951 3 Sheets-Sheet. 1

Filed Oct. 17, 1947 INVENTOR. RICHARD 6. (ROWE NM N ATTOR/VEVS Jan. 16,1951 R. s. CROWE CLOTH FOLDING MACHINE 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Oct. 17,1947 I WWMflWY Jan. 16, 1951 R. e. CROWE CLOTH FOLDING MACHINE 3Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed 061;. .l7, 1947 INVENTOR. RICH/MPO G CFOWL 7ATTORIVITYS Patented Jan. 16, 1951 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CLOTHFOLDING MACHINE Richard G. Crowe, Normandy, Mo.

Application October'll, 1947, Serial No. 780,493 4 Claims. (01. 270-40)This invention relates to folding machines for cloth and the like, andmore particularly to a machine for folding heavy goods, such as canvasor waterproofed' fabric, whereby the goods is prepared for cutting torequired lengths.

A main object of the invention is to provide-a novel and improvedmachine for folding web material such as cloth to reduced width prior'tocutting the material to desired lengths, as required by subseduentoperations, said machine being very simple in construction, easy tooperate, and providing a'great saving in time and labor in the handlingof the material.

A further object of the invention is to provide an improved machine forhandling heavy cloth, such as canvas or waterproofed fabric, as well aslighter textile material's, said machine foldin the cloth to a widthconvenient to handle .for cutting the cloth to a desired length, themachine being inexpensive to construct, readily adjustable to change thesize of the folds, and reliable in operation.

Further objects and advantages of the invention will become apparentfrom the iollow-ing description and claims, and from the accc'mpanyingdrawings, "wherein: V 1

Figure 1 is a sideei'evationai view of a machine for foldin web materialto desired width constructed in accordance with the present invention.

Figure 2 is a top plan view of the machineof.

Figure 1 but showing no cloth in the slat por tion of the machine.

Figure 3 is a vertical transverse cross-sectional view, enlarged inscale, taken on line 3- -3 of Fi ure 1.

Figure 4 is an enlarged "longitudinal detail cross-sectional "view takenon line '4-4 of Figure 2. I

Figure '5 is an enlarged vertical transverse detail view taken online'5-5 of Figure 1.

Figure 6 is. a top plan view similar to Figure 2, but showing the clothpassing entirely through the machine, wherebyit is folded to reducedwidth.

Figure 7 is an enlarged cross-sectional detail view taken on line I -1-of Figure 2.

Figure 8 is a transverse cross-sectional detail view taken on line 8--8of Figure 2, showing the pleating bars of the machine in end elevation.

Referring to the drawings, "H designates a generally rectangular tablehaving vertical supporting legs 12 at its'respec'tive corners. Journaledin bearing brackets is secured to the legs lT2-at one end of the tableis a transverse shaft M on which is wound the roll of cloth l5 which isto be folded to reduced width prior to cutting. Secured to the table atsaid end are pairs of up standing brackets I6, l6, ll, ll, I8, 18, andl9, H), in which are journaled the respective transverse free rollers20, 2|, 22 and 23, around which the cloth from roll I5 is threaded, thecloth passing under the forward roller 23 adjacent the table surface, asshown in Figure 1.

Secured to the table forwardly adjacent roller 23 is a transverse platemember 24 and projecting vertically upwardly from each end portion ofsaid plate member is a post member 25. Secured to the top ends of thepost members 25 is a transverse plate member 26. Secured to the tableforwardly of plate member 2a is a transverse plate member 21 andprojecting upwardly from each end portion of plate member 21 arevertical post ber 29.

Secured to the transverse bottom plate members 2t and 2! between therespective end posts of said plate members are longitudinally-extendingvertical slats 30, uniformly spaced in a transverse direction andsubstantially greater in height than half the height of the end posts,but substantially less than the full height of said end posts. The topedges of the slats 30 are inclined downwardly and rearwardly at theirrear ends, as shown at 3|.

Adjustably secured to the transverse top plate members 26 and 29 anddepending therefrom are longitudinally-extending vertical slats 32 whichare spaced so as to lie in longitudinal vertical planes midway betweenthe planes of the bot tom slats 30. The height of the slats 32 issubstantially the same as that of the slats 3d and the rear bottom edgesof the slats 32 are inclined up-' wardly, as shown at 33.

The rear end portions of the slats 32 are adjustably fastened to platemember 25 by bolts 34 threaded through plate elements 534 secured toplate member 26. The bolts 34 are locked in adjusted positions by wingnuts 35 which are tightened on the bolts 34 so as to bear on the plateelements 34'. The forward end portions of slats 32 are adjustablyfastened to plate member 2?; by longer bolts 3'! threaded through plateelements 37' secured to plate member 29. The bolts 3'! are locked inadjusted positions by wing nuts 38 which are tightened on the bolts 34so as to bear on the plate elements 31'. As shown in Figure 4, the bolts34' and 37 are adjusted to provide a certain amount of vertical play forthe rear and forward 3 end portions of the slats 32 so that said slatsare free to move vertically within predetermined limits during theoperation of the machine.

Secured on the forward portion of the table I l is a transverse frame oryoke 58 in which are journaled a pair of vertical rollers 5!, 4i similarto conventional Wringer rollers, said rollers being maintained insqueezing engagement with each other in the same manner as the wringerrollers of a conventional washing machine. A conventional release lever22 is provided on the wringer roller unit ,6, whereby the clampingpressure on the rollers 3!, 4i may be released and the rollers may beseparated if desired. The rollers are coupled together for simultaneousrotation in opposite directions by gears 43, 43 carried on their shafts,and the shaft of one of the rollers carries a bevel gear 4 3 at itslower end. Said shaft depends through an opening 45 formed in the tabletop. Secured beneath the table top is a bearing bracket at in which isjournaled a transverse shaft 4? carrying abevel gear 68 which mesheswith bevel gear d4. Said shaft also carries a pulley ts which is coupledby a belt 53 to the shaft of a motor 5| mounted beneath the table.

The wringer rollers ii, ii are substantially symmetrically spaced withrespect to the longitudinal vertical central plane of the table and theslat assemblies.

In operation, cloth from roll I5 is passed through the feed rollers 28,2!, 22 and 23 in the manner illustrated in Figure l, and is receivedbetween the inclined rear edge portions 3i and 33' of the respectiveslats 3G and 32. The cloth is first pulled manually through the slats,whereby it is longitudinally pleated, and the pleated cloth is fedbetween the wringer rollers ix, ii. The wringer rollers grip the pleatedcloth, and when the motor 5! is energized, provide the required tensionto pull the cloth through the pleating slats and 32 without furtherattention on the part of the operator.

The folded cloth which leaves the wringer rollers ti, ii is fed to acutting table, not shown, where is out to desired lengths, as requiredby subsequent operations.

The pleating action is obtained by the weight of the floating upperslats 32 acting on the cloth between adjacent stationary slats 353, aswell as by the fact that the slats are each substantially greater thanhalf the height of the respective supporting posts 28, 28 and 25, 25.The folds defined by the pleats are completed by the transversecompression exerted thereon by the wringer rollers ll, ii as theconverged pleats are drawn through said rollers, as shown in Figure 6.The resultant folded cloth is thereby reduced to a width convenient tohandle and to cut to desired length.

The height of the slats and the number of slats employed may be variedin accordance with the width of the material to be folded.

While a specific embodiment of a machine for folding cloth or other webmaterial has been disclosed in the foregoing description, it will beunderstood that various modifications within the spirit of the inventionmay occur to those skilled in the art. Therefore, it is intended that nolimitations be placed on the invention except as defined by the scope ofthe appended claims.

What is claimed is:

l. A machine for forming longitudinal folds in a web fed longitudinallytherethrough, said machine comprising a horizontally elongated support,a folding unit on said support comprising a lower set of longitudinallyarranged parallelly spaced slats secured to rise from said support, anupper set of longitudinally arranged parallelly spaced slats supportedto depend with their lower edges between and below the upper edges ofthe slats of the lower set, substantial portions of the upper edges ofthe lower slats and of the lower edges of the upper slats beingrearwardly tapered to the rearward ends of the slats, and a pair ofopposed vertical pressing rollers positioned on said supportin'forwardly spaced relation to said folding unit for pressing the foldsformed between the upper and, lower slats of said folding unit as theunfolded web is fed forwardly through said folding unit and the foldedportion of the web emerging forwardly from said unit is fed between saidpressing rollers, means supporting said upper slats comprisingtransverse elements supported above said support and extendingtransversely across the opposite ends of said lower setof slats, andvertically adjustable elements on each ofsaid transverse elementssecured to longitudinally spaced portions of said upper slats;

2. A machine for forming longitudinal folds in a web fed longitudinallytherethrough, said machine comprising a horizontally elongated support,a folding unit on said support comprising alower set of longitudinallyarranged parallelly spaced slats secured to rise from said support, anupper set of longitudinally arranged parallelly spacedslats supported todepend with from said unit-is fed between said pressing rollers, meanssupporting said upper slats comprising:

transverse elementssupported above said support and extending.transversely across the opp0- site endsof said lower .set of slats, andvertically adjustable elements on each of said transversei elementssecured tolongit-udinally spaced portions of said upper: slats, saidvertically adiust able elements being adjustable to vary the penetrationof said upper slats.;into the spaces between related "pairs ofsai'dlower slats andthereby vary the width of folds formed in the web.

3. A machine .for forming-longitudinalfolds in a web fed longitudinallytherethrough, said machine comprising *a horizontally elongated support,a folding unit on said support comprisin'g-a lower set of longitudinallyarranged parallelly spacedsla-tsgsec-ured to rise from said support,-'anupper 'set -of--longitudinally arranged parallelly spaced slatssupported to depend withtheir'lower edges between and below the upperedges of the slats of the lower set, substantial portions of the upperedges-of the lower slats and of the lower edges of the upper slats beingrearwardly tapered to 'the rearward ends of the slats, and a pair ofopposed vertical pressing rollers positioned on saidsupport in forwardlyspaced relation to said-folding unit for pressing the folds formedbetween the upper and lower slats of said f ol idir1g.- unit astheunfolded web- 5 V is fed forwardly through said folding unit an thefolded portion of the web emerging forwardly from said unit is fedbetween said pressing rollers, means supporting said upper slatscomprising transverse elements supported above said support andextending transversely across the opposite ends of said lower set ofslats, and vertically adjustable elements on each of said transverseelements secured to longitudinally spaced portions of said upper slats,said vertically adjustable elements on each of said transverse elementsbeing individually adjustable to vary the inclination of the lower edgesof said upper slats relative to said support, and to vary the depth ofpenetration of the upper slats into the spaces between related pairs ofsaid lower slats, whereby to vary the width of individual folds formedby passage of said web forwardly through said folding unit.

4. A machine for forming longitudinal folds in a web fed longitudinallytherethrough, said 1 machine comprising a horizontally elongatedsupport, a folding unit on said support comprising a lower set oflongitudinally arranged parallelly spaced slats secured to rise fromsaid support, an upper set of longitudinally arranged parallelly spacedslats supported to depend with their lower edges between and below theupper edges of the slats of the lower set, substantial portions of theupper edges of the lower slats and of the lower edges of the upper slatsbeing rearwardly tapered to the rearward ends of the slats, and a pairof opposed vertical pressing rollers positioned on said support inforwardly spaced relation to said folding unit for pressing the foldsformed between the upper and lower slats of said folding unit as theunfolded web is fed forwardly through said folding unit and the foldedportion of the web emerging forwardly from said unit is fed between saidpressing rollers, means supporting said upper slats comprisingtransverse elements supported above said support and extendingtransversely across the opposite ends of said lower set of slats, andvertically adjustable elements on each of said transverse elementssecured to longitudinally spaced portions of said upper slats, saidvertically adjustable elements on each of said transverse elements beingindividually adjustable to vary the inclination of the lower edges ofsaid upper slats relative to said support, and to vary the depth ofpenetration of the upper slats into the spaces between related pairs ofsaid lower slats, whereby to vary the width of individual folds formedby passage of said web forwardly through said folding unit, saidvertical adjustable elements having lost motion connection with said uppr slats providing for limited free vertical motion of said upper slatsduring the passage of the web through said folding unit.

RICHARD G. CROWE.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 758,962 Friend May 3, 1904813,593 Sexton Feb. 2'7, 1906 1,085,948 Smith Feb. 3, 1914 1,759,844Gudge et al. May 27, 1930

